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      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeNov 29th 2011
     

    I couldn’t find any topics specific to graphic novels and comic books sooo…

    Suggest comic books, manga and graphic novels and discuss what you thought about them!

    (Do make sure to keep spoilers in hidden text, though.)

    I recommend:

    Watchmen by Alan Moore

    Excellent graphic novel. It was one of those books I just couldn’t put down, I reading it in one sitting and staying up until 5AM to finish it. By far the best superhero graphic novel I’ve ever read and one of the best graphic novels period.

    Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (Vol. 1 & 2) by Art Spiegelman

    Watchmen is good, but even it doesn’t come close to Maus, in my opinion. I’m actually finding it difficult to describe just how good Maus is. It’s good enough to make me tear up a few times, let’s leave it at that.

    The Adventures of Tintin by Georges “Hergé” Rémi

    Amazing stories and an amazing cast of characters. If you decide to pick up the books make sure you read them in order, the character development is just phenomenal.

    The Adventures of Asterix by René Goscinny

    Fun series of graphic books/comics. If you’re looking for something to cheer you up after reading Maus check these out. ;)

    Grendel by Matt Wagner

    Interesting series of comics. I remembered this one particular because of the “black, white and red” art style.

    Case Closed by Gosho Aoyama

    The manga that the anime series Detective Conan was based off of.

    Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba

    I’ve heard mixed reactions to Death Note. I thought it was fairly interesting, but things do start to get a little strange…

  1.  

    The Sandman by Neil Gaiman – Reading it was like a spiritual enlightenment. It takes all the magic of mythology in general and multiplies it a thousand fold.

    Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis – What journalism should be like.

    20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa – It deconstructs, well, everything while rebuilding it into something greater.

    Nextwave by Warren Ellis – This is my absolute favorite Marvel comic of all time. The company was built just so it could eventually hire Ellis and Immonen to create this book.

    Secret Six by Gail Simone – Delicious in how wrong it can be.

    Hellblazer by a bunch of guys, Garth Ennis in particular – He’s the kind of superhero I’d like to buy a round of shots for.

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeNov 29th 2011
     

    A lot of people have recommended The Sandman, but I completely forgot about it. I’ll have to check if my library has it…

    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeNov 29th 2011
     

    I mostly read mainstream superhero comics, which… I’ll admit often are either not what I’d consider a top-notch graphic novel or difficult to get into without knowing all of the backstory. But I’ve read a few other things, and I definitely agree with the Watchmen recommendation. It’s awesome.

    I haven’t read too much manga, but I have read a few things, and Death Note is pretty well my favorite. Yes, it gets weird, but… I think the ride’s worth it. The ending is fantastic. It’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, though. There were multiple places where I very nearly put the series aside forever because things changed or happened differently than how I wanted them to—if you’ve read the series, you can probably guess at least one of those spots and understand why I felt that way. And yeah, the shinigami stuff can get weird. But I still love it. Light and L playing tennis remains one of my favorite scenes ever.

    Anyway, me being the obsessed Batfan I am, I can’t let this thread go by without also recommending Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, or The Dark Knight Returns by the same author. They’re great, and very accessible even if you don’t know much about Batman.

  2.  

    As far as comics go, Calvin and Hobbes can’t be surpassed, in my opinion.

    I agree with the recommendation of Watchmen, and I’ve wanted to read Maus. The nonprofit I work at has copies that I’m allowed to borrow, so next time I head up there I might do that. I haven’t finished The Sandman, but I really loved what I’ve read so far.

  3.  

    eyeshield 21 for life

    • CommentAuthorNo One
    • CommentTimeNov 29th 2011
     

    ^^Agreed. Also, Fullmetal Alchemist.

    •  
      CommentAuthorBeldam
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2011 edited
     

    Holy cow, Eyeshield is good. Best sports manga ever.

    As far as comic books go, everyone should read the Batman comic, The Killing Joke, it’s very good, and also Joker, (yeah, it’s a trend) which is interesting because the version of the Joker in it looks just like the Dark Knight version even though it came some time before the movie was released. For manga, people should check out Otomen and Fruits Basket (if they don’t mind shoujo) and MAOH, since it’s pretty good. Petshop of Horrors was also pretty good, and it’s even completed, which is great. Forgot this one, but Monster is also reaally fantastic, and for normal comics, Get Fuzzy. Those strips made my sundays while I lived in the states.

  4.  

    Holy cow, Eyeshield is good. Best sports manga ever.

    you get to be my favorite for today

    • CommentAuthorMnemone
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2011
     
    Best Batman besides *Year One* (I spent months looking for the nonexistent *Year Two*) is probably *The Long Halloween*

    *The Dark Knight Returns* is pretty good, but when the razor-teeth monsters with swastikas on their buttocks show up, I get a bit lost.

    Warren Ellis is really cool, besides the aforementioned *Transmetropolitan* I also like *The Authority* and *FreakAngels*, the latter available FREE on the Web "here": http://www.freakangels.com

    I like Garth Ennis' run on *The Punisher*, as well as his new(er) series *The Boys*.

    Indie comics require more thought, I'll get to them later. (Note that this is in a thinking-about-your-favourites
    context -- I love superheroes and know perfectly well many of them can be tricky to understand [Watchmen, Invisibles, etc.], and the continuity snarls of superheroes can make reading them a daunting task, trying to remember all the details accumulated over decades).
    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2011
     

    I really enjoyed all of the Flight series.

    Those big thick books in the back corner of your local indie comic shop.

    I just pull them off and stare at the covers, they’re so pretty… :D

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      CommentAuthorSoupnazi
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2011
     

    As far as comics go, Calvin and Hobbes can’t be surpassed, in my opinion.

    That about sums it up.

    How about Bone, though? I… it’s hard to explain. It’s about three brother “bones” (these weird creatures) who find themselves in a valley of humans where they end up helping to save the world. And humor!

    That… makes it sound really bad.

    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2011 edited
     

    Year Two actually does exist (it’s issues 575 to 578 of Detective Comics, written by Mike Barr), but it’s not on par with Year One and The Long Halloween (which is sort of Year Three), and it’s not really considered in canon, for the most part. The Long Halloween is excellent, though. I’ve got my copy sitting on my desk right now, actually! (along with quite a number of other books. I don’t have enough bookshelves in my room. :( ) I also like its sequel, Dark Victory, even if it’s not quite as awesome.

    I also meant to mention Y: The Last Man. That’s a lengthier series, but man, is it ever good.

    EDIT: Also, best sort-of-for-kids superhero comics series ever is Young Justice. I will take no argument whatsoever on that (unless you’re trying to say Tiny Titans is better, in which case I may have to concede that point). It’s pretty much my favorite series I’ve ever read. Basically, Superboy, Robin, Impulse, Arrowette, Wondergirl, and Secret (a character who very sadly has pretty well never been mentioned outside of YJ) start hanging out in an old JLA base with Red Tornado as their sort of den mother and go on completely deranged adventures. It’s awesome.

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      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2011 edited
     

    Just look at this thing. My favorite of the covers.

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2011 edited
     

    Picture isn’t showing. Upload it to imgur.

    Edit: nvm

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2011
     

    Well, thanks, whoever fixed it.